“Inflammation makes anything red due to cells dying within a short period of time,” Lo said.

UVB rays can also cause cells to undergo apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Massive cell death can cause sheets of skin to peel off the body.

Humans have a natural defense to the harmful UV radiation in the form of melanin, which determines skin pigmentation, Lo said.

Melanin acts as an absorbent filter for UV radiation.

There are two types of melanin involved in skin pigmentation – eumelanin and pheomelanin – but only eumelanin is involved in protecting the skin from the sun.

People with a darker pigmentation tend to have more eumelanin, while people with fairer skin and redorblond hair tend to produce more pheomelanin and thus are at a higher risk for skin cancer.

“People with red hair and freckling skin are at a higher risk of melanoma. They not only have an inferior pigment but their pigment itself is a problem,” said Lo.

Constant damage to skin cells’ DNA by UV radiation can cause mutations in the DNA. This can lead to uncontrolled cell growth and mistakes in the DNA repair process which can result in cancerous cells.

Lo said that the most deadly skin cancer is melanoma, which is known for its dark-colored appearance. However, the most common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Sunscreen contains inorganic and organic chemicals that deflect and absorb UV rays, respectively. The sun protection factor number found on sunscreen bottles refers to how long it will take one to get a sunburn. For example, someone wearing sunscreen with SPF 15 would get a sunburn 15 times slower than someone not wearing sunscreen.

An SPF 15 sunscreen can protect the skin from about 93 percent of UV rays, while an SPF 30 sunscreen can protect the skin from 97 percent of UV rays. No sunscreen can protect users from 100 percent of UV rays.

Poll

The Associated Students UCLA announced in October that the price of dorm coupons, which allow students living on the Hill to trade meal swipes for coupons that can be used with on-campus food vendors, have increased by $1. Now, a meal swipe can be swapped for a coupon worth $3.45. What do you think about this?
The moderate increase is a welcome step toward ensuring students living on the Hill can also eat on campus at lower costs.
The increase continues to overcharge students and causes them to lose their meal swipes’ value.
This increase is of little consequence, as few are inclined to use the coupon service.
I have feelings about this issue that are not expressed in the options above.
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